Why Clemson’s IPTAY is asking fans to think twice about ticket, donation refunds
Clemson is finalizing its plan for the upcoming football season to include how many fans are allowed in Memorial Stadium, what parking and tailgating will look like and who will receive tickets for games.
When that plan is announced sometime this month, many Tigers fans will have a decision to make.
Clemson supporters will have the option of asking for a refund of all, some or none of their donations, ticket purchases and parking spots that might be lost for the 2020 season, according to IPTAY CEO Davis Babb. A greatly reduced capacity is expected at Memorial Stadium (which seats 81,500) because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
IPTAY, the school’s athletic fund-raising group, sent an email to donors on Monday warning that, “If we are asked to refund a significant amount of donations, there is the potential based on the outcome of our fall seasons that we will face the possibility of falling significantly short of meeting our funding requirements.”
IPTAY typically provides Clemson athletics with $38 million annually, according to Babb. The majority of that money comes from tickets sales and donations, Babb said.
The Greenville News reported last summer that in 2017-18 Clemson football brought in nearly $54 million in revenue. More than $30 million of that money was generated by ticket sales and donations, according to that report.
“With our IPTAY revenue and season ticket revenue, when you combine those two it’s over 50 percent of the athletic budget. Those are two big drivers,” Babb told The State. “Our message was, ‘Look, we’re going to have some uncertainty. And the donors are so important to the funding of what we’re doing that as we put more information out they’re going to have refund options and we’re asking folks to consider leaving those donations with IPTAY so we can fund the many things that we (provide) student-athletes.”
Babb’s email to IPTAY donors outlined where the $38 million is spent. The number includes $12.6 million in scholarships, $9.5 million in facility funding, $4.7 million in student-athlete and academic enrichment, $7.9 million in IPTAY operations, $2.3 million in strength and conditioning and $1 million to the Clemson band and cheerleaders.
The $7.9 million in IPTAY operations pays salaries for IPTAY employees, covers benefits for employees, is used to hire workers for football suites, basketball suites and baseball field level seats, is used to hire employees to work parking for events, includes traveling expenses for gift officers who travel to raise money and more.
“When you have an organization like IPTAY that has been so supportive for so long, it’s an important piece in the puzzle from a revenue standpoint and we realize that,” Babb said. “We’re the largest revenue provider to the athletic department. Our role is important.”
Babb declined to say just how concerned he is about the potential loss of revenue, stating that a lot will depend on what fans choose to do over the next few weeks. He understands that some families are going through hardships but is hopeful that those who can will continue to donate to IPTAY.
“We’ve had people ask for refunds. We’ve had others that have wanted to consider it. But we’ve also had a number of people say they appreciate the heads up (Monday). (They’re) going to be all in and continue to donate,” Babb said. “Every dollar that we can retain we’re that much closer to trying to meet that $38 million goal. It’s just one of those years that everybody is doing their best to see if we can keep doing what we’re doing.”
